Altered Ego

By James Street

Altered Ego is a poetic dive into the psyche of James Street. Through these poems, the author tries to better understand and accept his place in a flawed world. As his perception of reality becomes clearer, he grapples more with his sense of identity and belonging. These poems are the output of a man trying to answer evolution’s call to become his best self and, ultimately, transcend his ego entirely.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664193543

James Street

James Street is a poet and a mystic. By focusing on critical thinking and expanding awareness, Street has lived as though his greatest artistic achievement is himself. Being the muse to some greater thinking thing, he infuses his life with spiritual depth and a fascination with the human experience.

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Copyright © 2021 by James Street.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,

without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 09/02/2021

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

834312

CONTENTS

The Fan

Present Nostalgia

The Taste of Real Air

For a Good Time

Coca Cola Picture Frames

Sunk Cost Fallacy

Clockbrain

Infinite Thread

One Sip at a Time

House on the Hill

Confidence Artist

Sandpaper Sponge

A Meditation on Occam’s Razor

Enter the Monastic Order of First World Friars

Machine in the Mulch

Random Acts of Indulgence

Just Keep Walking

Outside the Simulation

Make It Happen

Mood Lighting

Green Diamonds

Frame Me

A Quick 180

Blood Sample

Heckling the Spectators

Agony, a Six-Cylinder Engine

Field Test

Piaget, S’il Vous Plait

Rabelaisian

Opposite Street

Throw Away Your Arcade Tickets

Pocket Runs Deep

Underdog

Fate’s Mistakes Revisited

Written in Shapeshifting Ink

Lose Sight of the Foxhole

Point Man

Sweat Stings

Black Butterfly

Tundra

On the Boardwalk (Vapor Waves)

In the Hole

Magic 8-Ball

Heron

Straw Crazy (Atlas’ Chiropractor)

B Roll

Playtime

Three Quarters

Button Pusher

Between the Seagulls

Ode to Insecurity

This is My Body

To Feel Her Gaze

                                    We put in work

                                    as holy tuning forks.

                                    And so,

                                    with altered egos

                                    forward we go.

THE FAN

Leading the witness.

Prosecution’s incoherent patter

cleverly dressed as a

Trojan Horse;

externally plain,

covert sentinels within.

The truest nature of the illusion:

everything here is

designed to turn you into

a funhouse mirror image.

The reflective crystal ball

is expanding.

We use deductive reasoning

and behavioral therapy

in hopes of attaining reality.

What we get, in actuality,

are added levels

in a vertically integrating system

with no limits.

They keep their

schizophrenic shamans

drugged up,

then discredit their truths

as they bleed them for